29 July 2026·PIB

PARLIAMENT QUESTION: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENDITURE

In this note

1. At a Glance

GERD (Gross Expenditure on R&D) = India's total spend on research/development, tracked by DST's biennial "Research & Development Statistics" report. [1]
India's GERD stuck near 0.6-0.9% of GDP for years — far below US, China, South Korea, Israel. Perennial Prelims/Mains theme on India's innovation deficit. [1][2]
Govt dominates R&D funding in India (unlike advanced economies where private sector leads) — key policy worry. [2]
Recent fix attempt: ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund (2025) to pull private sector into high-risk research. [3]

29 Jul 2026: Ministry of Science & Technology (DST) answered Parliament Question on R&D expenditure, releasing GERD data 2019-20 to 2023-24 from "Research & Development Statistics 2025-26" report. [1]

DST periodically brings out "R&D Statistics" report — main govt dataset benchmarking India's R&D spend, sectoral funders, workforce. [1]
2010-11 → 2020-21: GERD more than doubled, ₹60,196.75 cr → ₹1,27,380.96 cr — but GDP share stayed flat (~0.6-0.7%). [2]
5 Feb 2024: Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) Act, 2023 (Act 25 of 2023) came into force — apex body to boost R&D funding, esp. non-govt streams. [3]
3 Nov 2025: ₹1 lakh crore RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) Fund launched under ANRF — long-tenor, low/nil-interest financing to catalyse private R&D. [3][4]

Implementing/reporting body: Department of Science & Technology (DST), Ministry of Science & Technology. [1]
Source report: "Research & Development Statistics 2025-26." [1]
ANRF Act 2023 → ANRF operational from 5 Feb 2024; target mobilise ₹50,000 cr (2023-28), of which ₹14,000 cr from Centre, rest from non-govt sources (industry/philanthropy). [3]
RDI Fund: ₹1 lakh crore, launched 3 Nov 2025, for private-sector-led high-risk/strategic research. [3][4]
DST + DBT = two largest extramural R&D funders (historically 63% + 14% share). [2]

Economic

Low GERD/GDP (~0.84%) vs global peers (US ~3.5%, China ~2.4%, South Korea ~4.9%) flagged as constraint on innovation-led growth. [1][2]
Govt-heavy funding mix crowds out private R&D culture; RDI Fund designed to invert this ratio. [3]

Scientific/Technological

Rising absolute GERD (₹1.32 lakh cr → ₹2.44 lakh cr, 2019-20 to 2023-24) correlates with India's rising patent filings/publications output (separate DST metric). [1]

Governance/Administrative

Multiplicity of funding channels (DST, DBT, ANRF, RDI Fund) — coordination/duplication concern. [2][3]
Fund disbursal mechanism (low/nil-interest long-tenor loans) departs from pure-grant model — new administrative architecture to monitor. [4]

Strategic

R&D self-reliance tied to "sovereign tech development" push — link to Atmanirbhar Bharat, semiconductor/AI missions. [3]

5 Feb 2024: ANRF Act, 2023 notified into force. [3]
2025 (through year): ANRF Executive Council approved RDI Fund operationalisation decisions. [3]
3 Nov 2025: ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund formally launched. [3][4]
Dec 2025: DST Year Ender 2025 released, recapping R&D initiatives. [3]
29 Jul 2026: Latest Parliament Question reply cites GERD data up to 2023-24 from "R&D Statistics 2025-26" report. [1]

GERD = Gross Expenditure on Research and Development, India's key R&D metric. [1]
2023-24 GERD figure: ₹2,44,767.81 crore, = 0.84% of GDP. [1]
Reporting agency: Department of Science and Technology (DST), not MeitY or DBT. [1]
Source document: "Research & Development Statistics 2025-26" report. [1]
GERD share of GDP dipped in 2020-21 (0.64%) — COVID year — before rising again. [1]
ANRF established under Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 (Act No. 25 of 2023). [3]
ANRF Act came into force 5 February 2024. [3]
ANRF target: mobilise ₹50,000 crore over 2023-28; Centre's share ₹14,000 crore. [3]
RDI (Research, Development and Innovation) Fund = ₹1 lakh crore, launched 3 November 2025. [3]
RDI Fund purpose: catalyse private-sector-led high-risk/strategic research via long-tenor, low/nil-interest financing. [4]
Historically DST (63%) and DBT (14%) = top two extramural R&D funders in India. [2]
India's GERD/GDP ratio (~0.6-0.9%) remains below US, China, South Korea. [2]

GS-III: Science & Technology — developments and applications; indigenisation of tech; awareness in IT, space, computers, biotech.
GS-II (secondary): Government policies/interventions for R&D sector development.
Possible stems: 1. "India's R&D expenditure remains below 1% of GDP despite rising absolute numbers. Critically examine structural reasons and evaluate the RDI Fund as a corrective mechanism." (GS-III) 2. "Discuss the institutional architecture created by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023, for mobilising R&D funding in India." (GS-II/III) 3. "Private sector participation is essential to bridge India's R&D-GDP gap. Comment with reference to recent government initiatives." (GS-III)

Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) — parent body overseeing RDI Fund and national R&D funding streams.
National Education Policy 2020 (research provisions) — links research funding reform to higher-ed restructuring.
India's patent filings & Global Innovation Index ranking — output-side counterpart to GERD input data.
Atmanirbhar Bharat / sovereign tech development — strategic framing for private R&D push.
Startup India & Deep Tech policy — private R&D ecosystem overlap.
Semiconductor Mission / National Quantum Mission — flagship missions RDI Fund could finance.
DBT (Department of Biotechnology) R&D funding — comparative extramural funder.

Confusing DST with DBT or MeitY as the source ministry for GERD data — GERD stats owned by DST. [1]
Mixing up GERD (%GDP) trend — dipped in 2020-21, not a monotonic rise; aspirants often assume steady increase. [1]
Conflating ANRF's ₹50,000 cr (2023-28) target with the separate ₹1 lakh crore RDI Fund — two distinct funding pools, different years/purposes. [3][4]
Assuming RDI Fund is a grant scheme — it is debt-based (long-tenor, low/nil-interest), not direct grants. [4]
Year confusion: ANRF Act passed 2023, but came into force 5 Feb 2024 — exam may test either date.